August 19, 2005
Last
week's 7pm “Monday Off” concert was a smash!
The jazz-based vocal quartet brought some serious swinging to Birdland,
and we can't wait for their return. Their material sure don't sound like
your grandma's showtunes, believe me! The following Cast Party
was packed with the cast, creators and fans of Silence,
the upcoming Fringe (www.fringenyc.org)
musical based on (yes…) “Silence of the Lambs.”
The whole cast celebrated their sold-out run with Piper-Heidseick
champagne, then sang their hilarious opening number, complete
with slo-mo choreography. The photo (above) shows Richard
Roland (Monday Off), Christopher Gattelli
(Silence director), Julie Garnye
(everywhere…), Stephen Bienskie (Silence)
and Lisa Howard (Silence and
Spelling Bee). The party went on to include
another great performance by Louise DuArt, groovy guitarist
Sean Harkness, The Fabulous Pink Flamingos,
and my haunting offering of Marie Osmond's “Paper
Roses.” My mother even made a rare
musical appearance. Nepotism isn't dead…at least not at my house.
Yay.
It's time for Sally Mayes! This coming Monday
night, you can catch one of Miss M's rare concert appearances
at Birdland at 7pm. You probably know
and love Sally from her award-winning performances in She
Loves Me, Closer Than Ever, Urban
Cowboy and Pete 'n Keely. I know
her because we played the same dumpy nightclubs in Texas in the 80's.
OK…they weren't all dumpy. But it sounds more interesting. Anyway,
we're celebrating her new CD, “Valentine”
(right), which is absolutely gorgeous. With Johnny Rodgers
at the piano, expect a sprinkling of standards, a few of Sally's stage
hits, and a-Mayes-ing special material. Call Birdland
now 212.581.3080 to make reservations…this one
will sell out! Plan to stick around for the following Cast Party,
too. This week, we'll have Tedd Firth at the piano, Steve
Doyle on bass, and a drop-in by Terry Steele
(www.terrysteele.com),
who happens to have Grammys and platinum records for writing songs like
“Here and Now” for Luther Vandross.
Wait till you hear him sing! I also hear that Nate Cooper
will be showing up to tapdance on roller skates. I'm not kidding. All
that, plus lots of newcomers and beloved regulars, will make it a night
to remember!
Jim Caruso's Cast Party is back on BroadwayWorld.com,
and it's back in a big way. Aside from being available on the site in
both streaming and downloadable form, new episodes can be automatically
downloaded via Apple's iTunes Service. You can now
subscribe to the Cast Party podcast by searching for
the show on iTunes!
This week's episode features highlights from Jim's weekly show-biz bash
at Birdland in NYC, where up-and-comers and already-theres
entertain each other at the piano. A phoner with Stephanie J.
Block (above, in the red spangles, as Liza
Minnelli in The Boy from Oz), who
stars as Elphaba in the national tour of Wicked,
will update fans on the massively successful production. She talks about
star-sightings, her gravity mishap, and the glamour of the dry-erase
board. It's only on Cast
Party - The Radio Show!
Tune into BroadwayWorld.com
radio on Tuesday and Friday nights
at 8pm. Or, you can make life even easier by clicking
on the site for an "on demand" experience
you'll love! In the words of Liza Minnelli, "Cast
Party IS New York!"
Cast Party Radio Show is produced by Brian
Wilson at SoHa
Media.
"The Party simply
glows with New York nightlife ambiance. It feels like a throwback to another
era but it has this era's top-notch entertainers dropping in to schmooze,
sing, eat, and drink. Caruso consistently provides a
flow of exciting singers, and he's definitely hip, cool and classy all
by himself."
-THEATERMANIA
When:
Every
Monday at
BIRDLAND
315 West
44th Street (between 8th & 9th)
212.581.3080
Woo hoo!
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The official Cast Party website
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Jim Caruso's website
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